Dear ZOS Solstice Story/Character Writers - THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! (Spoiler image under tag)

Bekkael

I just finished the very last of Eastern Solstice quests earlier this evening, and it was lovely and enjoyable. Epic heroes, my character and all her dear companions saving the world, as expected. But then, the unexpected happened, and there was a continuation of story for one of the characters that my main has been close to for the last 10 years and....GAH! I'm trying to be a little vague and not spoil anything for anyone, but I want to give huge thanks to the writers for including choices in dialogue that let my character speak of her history with, and express her feelings for a certain someone. My little role-playing heart is just floating on cloud 9! Thank you again, Writers, for the lovely gift, you made my day. ♥

Story spoiler image of a line of dialogue under the tag that says it all! (Don't click it if you haven't finished main story for Eastern Solstice!)

Harv3st

My expectations were low with the event in general, but I did enjoy the storyline overall too, and fam, same, my inner fangirl is satisfied 🤩

amig186

Let me guess - Darien?

BardokRedSnow

Same, the eastern content in general was very well done, honestly enjoyed it more than golden road

Tazzy

amig186 wrote: »

Let me guess - Darien?

If Raz says so, I'll buy the Season Pass after all, even though I swore I wouldn't.

Bekkael

amig186 wrote: »

Let me guess - Darien?

Of course! 😁 I never expected it, but my main character was always gone on him, so I hoped.

For my other characters he was just a good friend and comrade in arms. For Fraedda, he was "The One". 🥰

AScarlato

I'm very happy with this as well.

Now I hope the character returns as it would be cruel if we have this moment and then never see them again. Also should unlock as a companion and then houseguest.

Next they should have a similarly-situated female option to balance this out a bit.

I personally wouldn't mind if the male/female romance possibilities became fixtures in the story for as long as ESO continues to release content, which who knows how long that would be.

I really like the core cast in games like XIV and having one or two "companions" that actually react to the story and grow, unlike our Companions that freeze in time after we finish grinding rapport, would be nice to me.

Ilsabet

A sumptuous meal has been served, and I am well satisfied.

opaj

I've only done a little of the Eastern Solstice main quests, but I've completed four or five of the side quests, and ZOS really hit it out of the park with the writing. The quest with Captain One-Eye will probably take a spot in my top ten.

Nareya726

Completely agree and I hope they see this and know to keep giving us more!!

I'm enjoying the other returning characters too. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me coming back.

Ruhlf

Yeah. I feel like this patch had a ton of pretty great writing - and this was the cherry on top. Not at all what I was expecting - but something my scruffy wolfman thief has been wanting since day one.

We got him!

gary.mcleodeb17_ESO

I agree totally, I'd used my very first character (created on the Daggerfall Covenant faction in Feb 2014) to play through the Solistice story, and throughly enjoyed it. I'm still in awe of the story and regarding the very last part, I was stunned and began to feel so sentimental. I just can't stop thinking about it and the choices of dialogue we were given. Incredible ending for this character and the NPC involved. Thank you.

MasterSpatula

Haven't finished i yet, but I will say that

Gabirlle Benele

is my main's

Darien Gaultier

. Sure hoping this turns out to be worth it.

Jaimeh

I didn't choose any of the romancing options with Darien (or Raz) for my Vastige, but I almost felt bad, because the other options sounded somewhat cold at certain points. I wonder if they had to make the standard options sound a bit curt so that the other ones can sound warmer by comparison, and it's probably the only concern I have with the new dialogue choices. Still, I'm glad others had the opportunity, given how Darien is one of the most popular NPCs in the game, and how the Summerset ending left things in a sad place. I wish Gabrielle didn't have to be sacrificed to make him come back (and I suspect part of it was that it would have made things awkward with the new options, which is a shame, if true) and that they had reserved his comeback for the Meridia chapter, but I'm glad he is out of the Colored Rooms all the same.

Now if the game had thrown us Vanus/Manni fans a bone too, that would have been great, but I guess we can't have it all

Ruhlf

I feel like this is an experiment with a pretty safe character to experiment with. If it goes over well, then I can see them expanding this kind of feature to other stories. And I welcome it!

(As long as we’re not shut out of other stories like this, because we’re committed to this one.)

Prophet_of_Malacath

I may be an outlier, but I never forgot https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Non-Standard_Techniques written by Gabrielle Benele - so I never had reason to "like her", I had even less when aware of how Bretonic her views of "beastfolk" are, and I'm glad I wasn't obligated to mourn or weep or whatever over her.

Good riddance.

I offered Darien as little encouragement as possible too - because with how close he was to her, I felt my character would keep them all at arms-length at best.

SO THANK YOU ZOS for giving options for those of us who didn't want to be railroaded into liking folks.

My FAVORITE side-quest was at Caterwaul Cove. I never care for the end-of-zone parties, but Caterwaul

had the Soulshriven mention Er-Jaseen, who held the gate during the Coldharbour Prison Escape. It was surprisingly touching to see this NPC mentioned, an Argonian we barely interact with, but our entire career after tied to his help - and while some may not have thought of him in 10+ years, to her, he was her best friend.

The Orc reminiscing about "what could have been" and ties to the two sisters on the isles. The Argonian lamenting the fate of a tribe, but it relates to the Four Winds we helped in Blackwood. The Nord referencing, Hew's Bane & the Thieve's Guild, but also the Everfull Flagon.

THAT is the kind of "sentimentality" that catches me off-guard. Not the same routine party after every DLC - but seeing folks actually care about the setting outside of their quest & have references to how we got involved.

Level-design wise, Oozt-Tzel was stunning and I wish we could use it for more. Easily one of the most beautiful cities we've seen yet.

Zyv-Elehk was a legit world-boss, felt challenging. Not merely high-stats, but needing to work a circuit of mechanics.

Very much enjoyed Aldwilne Citadel (and helped the Prince) - good mix of stealth, costumes, etc.

Some of the other spots (Calindvale Gardens, Sea & Sword Lodge) felt like standard one-and-done occasions. Not strong memories.

But Caterwaul, Oozt-Tzel, Zyv-Elehk and Aldwine Citadel were great - mixing mechanics, callbacks and environmental design.

Oh and credit to Ashbound Hall, it wasn't as deadly as I'd expect the premise to be, but if ESO ever wanted to go heavier on horror, that'd be great for an Arena of some sort. I enjoyed the different interaction options and even the lore

like Molag Bal snatching "good" vampires away - which then has implications for why Ravenwatch remains

All-in-all, much fun.

AScarlato

Jaimeh wrote: »

I didn't choose any of the romancing options with Darien (or Raz) for my Vastige, but I almost felt bad, because the other options sounded somewhat cold at certain points. I wonder if they had to make the standard options sound a bit curt so that the other ones can sound warmer by comparison, and it's probably the only concern I have with the new dialogue choices. Still, I'm glad others had the opportunity, given how Darien is one of the most popular NPCs in the game, and how the Summerset ending left things in a sad place. I wish Gabrielle didn't have to be sacrificed to make him come back (and I suspect part of it was that it would have made things awkward with the new options, which is a shame, if true) and that they had reserved his comeback for the Meridia chapter, but I'm glad he is out of the Colored Rooms all the same.

Now if the game had thrown us Vanus/Manni fans a bone too, that would have been great, but I guess we can't have it all

While I am glad we have the option to end up with Darien, and suspect it was to make it less awkward with Gabrielle, I do feel bad for her. She spends a great deal of time dedicating a portion of her life to trying to find Darien and free him, and we know she cared for him deeply.

It likely would have taken more writing nuance to keep her alive and have her feelings be unrequited in the romance path, or they could have had Darien go for her if you went the friendship path.

MasterSpatula

Prophet_of_Malacath wrote: »

I may be an outlier, but I never forgot https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Non-Standard_Techniques written by Gabrielle Benele - so I never had reason to "like her", I had even less when aware of how Bretonic her views of "beastfolk" are, and I'm glad I wasn't obligated to mourn or weep or whatever over her.

Good riddance.

But.. but... but... It doesn't even look like her handwriting! https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Gabrielle_Benele_Answers_Your_Questions

(I'll admit, I wish whoever wrote that response had put a little more effort in.)